December is the deadliest month in the US since the coronavirus pandemic began -- and projections for January are 'nightmarish,' expert says

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Sun, 2020-12-27 10:45 — mike kraft

December is the deadliest month in the US since the coronavirus pandemic began -- and projections for January are 'nightmarish,' expert says December has been the nation's deadliest month since the Covid-19 pandemic's start -- with more than 63,000 Americans lost to the virus in the past 26 days. Christina Maxouris, CNN CNN

(CNN) December has been the nation's deadliest month since the Covid-19 pandemic's start -- with more than 63,000 Americans lost to the virus in the past 26 days.

In comparison, the entire month of November saw about 36,964 deaths.

The grim death toll comes on the heels of several brutal months for the US, with Covid-19 ravaging communities from coast to coast, crippling hospital systems and prompting new widespread restrictions.

The authorization of two Covid-19 vaccines earlier in December offered some hope of a light at the end of the tunnel. But experts continue to warn that while the end is in sight, the pandemic is not over and another surge stemming from the Christmas holiday could be on its way.

"We very well might see a post-seasonal -- in the sense of Christmas, New Years -- surge," Dr. Anthony Fauci said on CNN's "State of the Union" Sunday morning, pointing to holiday travel and private gatherings taking place despite the advice of health experts. ...

More than 1.1 million people were screened at airports on Saturday, according to the TSA, marking the third busiest day for US air travel since March. More than 616,000 were screened on Christmas Day alone, and h

undreds of thousands more traveled in the days leading up to the holiday.

Covid-19 hospitalization numbers across the US are already at record-high levels. On Saturday, the country recorded its fifth-highest number of hospitalizations -- with more than 117,300 Covid-19 patients nationwide, according to the COVID Tracking Project.

... Nearly 332,000 Americans have died of Covid-19. Another 193,000 could lose their lives over the next two months, according to predictions from the University of Washington's Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation. ...

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